Red Sea Afar Democratic Organisation

The Red Sea Afar Democratic Organisation (RSADO) was an Ethiopia-based Eritrean rebel group that sought to overthrow Isaias Afwerki's dictatorship in Eritrea. The group was founded in 1999 to represent the Afar people of northern Ethiopia and southeastern Eritrea, and the Afar people sought to end their persecution at the hands of Afwerki and the Eritrean government. The RSADO conducted guerrilla warfare against the Eritrean government from their safe havens in Ethiopia, facing an enemy that was always ready to fight; Eritrea had a policy of mandatory and indefinite military service, which meant that soldiers could remain soldiers until the day that they died.